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Naomi Rosenberg, dean of the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, will retire at the end of this academic year, on June 30, 2017.

She joined the School of Medicine faculty in 1977 and was among the first faculty members of the Sackler School when it was founded in 1983. Her research has focused on mechanisms of leukemia development, producing the first good model for studying leukemia development in tissue culture. That work has paved the way for crucial discoveries about the role of the ABL gene in chronic myelogenous leukemia. Twenty-nine students completed their Ph.D. training under her guidance.

Rosenberg was named Sackler dean in 2004, directly supervising biomedical graduate education, and in 2007, added the role of vice dean for research at the medical school.

“For me, Naomi has been a trusted advisor, and I have relied on her guidance and understanding of basic science research to advance the medical school’s research mission,” said Harris Berman, dean of the School of Medicine. “She has been the guardian of that domain for our entire medical community. Both her work at Tufts and her service on numerous study sections, editorial boards, and national scientific and educational advisory boards and panels prepared her well for her role.”

Rosenberg earned an A.B. in biology magna cum laude from Boston University in 1969, and a Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Vermont in 1973. She completed postdoctoral training with David Baltimore at MIT prior to joining Tufts.

“Naomi has been a savvy steward of the school’s resources, ensuring that the depth of our research and the range and quality of our graduate education programs have been able to thrive, even in times of constrained external funding,” said Berman. “I have valued her essential good humor and her understated personal style, as well as her ability to make tough decisions when needed.”

Rosenberg’s commitment to educating the next generation of scientists has been a constant thread in her personal and professional life, Berman said. For example, she and her husband, Mort Rosenberg, professor emeritus of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, recently created the Naomi Rosenberg, Ph.D., and Morton B. Rosenberg, D.M.D., D74, Fellowship to help defray the cost of obtaining a graduate education for promising young degree candidates at Tufts.

Berman said he will announce the process to fill the roles of dean of the Sackler School and vice research dean at the School of Medicine in the coming weeks.